Brassiere



A. P. RICH BRASSIERE Dec. 6, 1955 Filed NOV. 5, 1953 FIG. .1.

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ATTORNEYS United States PatentF BRASSIERE Alberta P. Rich, Woodland Hills, Calif. Application November 3, 1953, Serial No. 389,932

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates to brassieres and more particularly to bust forming or molding brassieres which are adjustable to the forms of different wearers to obtain desired forming or molding results.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved brassiere which can be manufactured in the regular band lengths, but does not require-different size cups; which is nonelastic in construction and positively maintains a bust forming or molding condition to which it is adjusted; which is adjustable to either increaseor decrease the apparent size of the breasts; which has cups which engage and form the lower portions of the breasts only to provide the desired contour and has shields loosely covering the upper portions of the breasts; which maintains the breasts in thedesiredform against slipping or disarrangement even during athletic activities, such as swimming; and which issimple, strong and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, comfortable to wear, and neatand attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing a brassiere illustrative of the invention in operative position on a model;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the brassiere;

Figure 3 is a view somewhat similar to Figure 1, but showing the brassiere in front elevation;

Figure 4 is an elevational view of the brassiere in flattened out condition;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing structural details of the brassiere;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a shield constituting a component of the brassiere; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on the line 77 of Figure 6.

With continued reference to the drawing, the brassiere includes a straight body encircling band 10 formed of nonelastic material and having ends adapted to be separated at the back, the ends being provided with adjustable fastening elements at its ends including an eyelet attachment 11 at one end and a hook 12 connected to the other end by a short extension 13 of elastic.

Shoulder straps 14 and 15 are secured to the band 10 each at one end and one near each end of the band and extend substantially perpendicularly from the band. Fastening elements or hook fasteners 16 and 17 are secured to the shoulder straps 14 and 15 at the ends of the latter remote from the band, the shoulder straps being also formed of nonelastic fabric material.

A pair of separably formed flexible cup members 18 and 19, each having substantially straight upper and lower edges and upwardly converging side edges has its lower edge attached to the band 10. A pair of elongated breast tapes 21 and 25 are attached to the side 2,125,563 Patented Dec. 6, 1955 edges of the cup member 18, and the tapes 21 and 25 extend above the cup member 18 and are adapted to be brought in registering relation. A pair of elongated breast tapes 22 and 26 are attached to the side edges of the cup member 19 and the tapes 22 and 26 extend above the 'cup member 19 and are adapted to be brought into registering relation. The inner breast tapes 25 and 26 extend down to and are attached at their lower ends to the band 10.

The formation of the cup members is particularly illustrated in Figure 5, and these members are formed by doubling a rectangular piece of fabric substantially along the longitudinal center line thereof andthen folding the end portions of the two layers of fabric inwardly in a diagonal manner, as indicated at 20 in Figure 5, to provide the inclined end edges of the members. After the members are doubled and the end edges folded diagonally inward, the layers are quilted together to provide fabric structures of a substantially nonelastic character.

The upper end portions of the tapes 21 and 25 are provided with a plurality of cooperating fastening means selectively engageable with each other, said means embodying a plurality of spaced eyelets 27 on the upper portion of the tape 25 and a plurality of spaced eyelets 23 on the upper face and a plurality of spaced hooks 24 on the under face of the upper portion of the tape 21. The upper end portions of the tapes 22 and 26 are also provided with a plurality of cooperating fastening means selectively engageable with each other, the said means embodying a plurality of spaced eyelets 27 on the upper portion of the tape 26, and a plurality of spaced eyelets 23 on the upper face and a plurality of spaced hooks 24 on the under face of the upper portion of the tape 22.

Shields 28 and 29 are disposed adjacent the edges of the cup members 18 and 19 respectively, remote from the band 10 and each shield is stitched along one edge to the edge of the corresponding cup member remote from the band, as indicated at 30, and the shield 28 is stitched along its end edges to the breast tapes 21 and 25, while the sield 29 is stitched along its end edges to the breast tapes 22 and 26. Each of the shields is transversely divided into two pieces, the adjoining ends of which are so patterned that when the two pieces are stitched together at their adjoining ends, as indicated at 31, the shield is capable of assuming a concave-convex shape, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and each shield is provided with a hem along its edge remote from the corresponding cup member and an elastic band or drawstring, as indicaed at 32, extends through the hem to assist in contouring the shield.

The shields or covers 28 and 29 fit loosely around the upper portions of the breasts and do not have any function in forming or molding the bust. These shields may be omitted, if desired, without exceeding the scope of the invention.

In adjusting the brassiere, after the band 10 is secured around the body immediately below the breasts, the breast tapes 21 and 25 are brought against the body and connected together at their ends remote from the band at a position selected to provide the desired contour and the hook 16 of the shoulder strap 14 is then secured to these tapes 21 and 25 substantially at the location at which the two tapes are secured together, the shoulder strap being adjustable in length by a buckle 33 of well known construction and operation to thereby vary the Width and length of the cup member 18. The breast tapes 22 and 26 are then joined together in a similarly selected manner and the shoulder strap 15 connected to these tapes 22 and 26 substantially at the location at which they are connected together and adjusted 3 in length by the buckle 34 to thereby vary the width and length of the cup member 19.

By properly adjusting the several tapes, it is possible to cup a portion only of each breast, holding the remaining portion in a substantially fiat condition against thebody to thereby decrease the apparent size of the bust, or to cup flesh in addition to the breast and thereby increase the apparent size of the bust. The breast tapes 21, 25, 2.6 and 22 and the shoulder straps 14 and 15 are all formed of substantially nonelastic fabric material, so that no part of the brassiere is stretchable and the brassier will firmly hold its condition of adjustment even when subjected to strenuous activities on the part of the wearer.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is,- therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A brassiere comprising a body encircling band havings ends adapted to be separated at the back, a pair of separably formed flexible cup members, each of said cup members having substantially straight upper and lower edges and upwardly converging side edges, the lower edges of said cup members being attached to the band, each of said cup members having a pair of elongated breast tapes attached to the side edges and extending above the cup members adapted to be brought into registering relation, the inner breast tapes extending down to and being attached at their lower ends to said band, the upper portions of each pair of breast tapes being provided with a plurality of cooperating fastening means selectively engageable with each other, a shoulder strap attached at one end to the portion of said band adjacent each of the separated ends, the forward end of each of said shoulder straps being provided with a fastening element selectively attachable to the selectively engaged cooperating fastening means on the upper portions of the adjacent pair of breast tapes to thereby vary the length and width of the adjacent cup member.

2. A brassiere comprising a body encircling band having ends adapted to be separated at the back, a pair of separably formed flexible cup members, each of said cup members having substantially straight upper and lower edges and upwardly converging side edges, the lower edges of said cup members being attached to the band, each of said cup members having a pair of elongated breast tapes attached to the side edges and extending above the cup members and adapted to be brought into registering relation, the inner breast tapes extending down to and being attached at their lower ends to said band, the upper portion of one of the breast tapes of each pair being provided with a plurality of spaced eyelets and the other of the tapes of said pair being provided with a plurality of hooks on the under face thereof and a plurality of eyelets on the upper face thereof, the hooks on the under face of the other of said breast tapes being selectively engageable with the eyelets on the upper portion of the one of said breast tapes, a shoulder strap attached at one end to the portion of said band adjacent each of its separated ends, the forward end of each of said shoulder straps being provided with a hook selectively attachable to the eyelet on the upper face of the upper portion of the one breast tape of the adjacent pair of breast tapes which has its adjacent hook engaged by the eyelet on the upper portion of the other one of the adjacent pair of said breast tapes to thereby vary the length and width of the adjacent cup member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,418,016 Edelston Mar. 25, 1947 2,553,225 Weaver et al. May 15, 1951 2,560,706 Spetalnik July 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 595,743 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1947 

